Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man Book Review Essay

Kevin Rance HIST3102 Pratt 8 September 2011 The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man Book Review The novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson shows a story of a man with mixed blood of white and coloured. Throughout the story, the man is conflicted with his heritage, sometimes accepting his coloured heritage and at other times rejecting his coloured heritage and passing himself off as a white man. The main character travels all around the United States and Europe while observing how whites and coloureds behave separately and with each other. The nameless man goes through tough times and prosperous times his whole life and comes out with quite a few revelations. The two themes that are very†¦show more content†¦However, the narrator has another crisis to tackle, his self-identity. In the United States, there are only two types of people: white and coloured. The narrator struggles with self-identification and does not know whether to call himself white or coloured. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator assumes he is white and looks down upon the coloured children whom he attends school with. However his struggle with identification starts once he learns that he is classified as coloured solely for the reason that his mother is coloured as well. He stops teasing the coloured children, but he feels a â€Å"very strong aversion to being classed with them.† For the entirety of the novel, he resists the label â€Å"coloured† and tries to find ways to distinguish himself from the rest of his people he deems inferior. When in Paris, he was identified as neither coloured nor white, but simply as an American. He could roam Paris freely and enter any business he wanted due to being treated as equal. Paris was the first time he has ever ignore d the color of his skin. Life in the United States is very different for the narrator however. The treatment of the narrator in the different towns he visitsShow MoreRelatedRoth: The Stain of Mankind Essay1589 Words   |  7 Pagesequality was only a dream from those oppressed. Coleman’s fabrication of his false front is similar to the novel, The Autobiography of an Ex Coloured Man by James Johnson. Johnson’s story is about a black man who decides to use his light skin tone to pass off as white to avoid the prejudice and discrimination that African Americans endured in the early 1900’s. When the â€Å"Ex Coloured Man† is eleven he was asked to sit when the teacher called on the white children when the principle was present. AfterRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesOne Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and the publisher was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or al l caps. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational behavior / Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. JudgeRead MoreInnovators Dna84615 Words   |  339 Pagesdisruptive innovation. â€Å"Businesses worldwide have been guided and in uenced by e Innovator’s Dilemma and e Innovator’s Solution. Now e Innovator’s DNA shows where it all starts. is book gives you the fundamental building blocks for becoming more innovative and changing the world. One of the most important books to come out this year, and one that will remain pivotal reading for years to come.† Chairman and CEO, salesforce.com; author, Behind the Cloud â€Å" e Innovator’s DNA is the ‘how to’Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesAmerica Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman